Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Suisun Lighthouse Still on Schedule

SUISUN CITY - The 45-foot-long pilings are in and the rest of the foundation is expected to be put down in the near future as Suisun City's Old Town lighthouse moves closer to reality.

"We are still on schedule to have it completed by the Fourth of July," said Dan Kasperson, the city's chief building inspector and the lighthouse project's manager.

Workers from Blackshear Construction were on the lighthouse site near Mike Day Park earlier this month, pounding the pilings into the ground.

Suisun City leaders have lauded the 52-foot-tall lighthouse as a distinctive symbol of the downtown area's continuing transformation into a destination spot for shoppers.

The idea for the lighthouse came out of a series of community forums held in late 2004 as a landmark that could be easily visible from Highway 12.

The council awarded Blackshear a $623,000 contract in early December to put up the structure, which was designed by ROMA Design Group.

The lighthouse's steel structure is now being fabricated by Delta Steel in its Benicia facility and will be transported to Suisun City on a large truck and put into place by cranes some time in March, according to Kasperson.

"The lighthouse's dedication ceremony will be coordinated with the Fourth of July celebration," Kasperson said.